Sterile container



. p 1929- M. STERLING 1,728,454

STERILE CONTAINER Filed 001;. 11. 1927 INVENTOR. /5 /5 6 M A 01: Miriam 6.

ail qahxh ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 17, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE A IRENE I. may 01' OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA B'IEBILE CONTAINER Application filed October 11, 1927. Serial No. 285,480.

The invention forming the subject matter of this application relates to containers for holding and dispensing sterile brushes or the like.

In modern surgery, every surgical instrument must be thoroughly sterilizedJ It is also essential that the surgeon should brush his hands with a sterilized brush. At present, the sterilized brushes are kept in a covered box, the cover of which must be removed by the surgeon in order to permit the withdrawal of a brush therefrom. It is apparent that while a person reaches for a brush, all the other sterilized brushes in the box' are rendered accessible to bacteria from the human hand or from any other source.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a container for sterilized articles, such as brushes and the like, in which only one article at a time is accessible to the human hand and from which the articles can be withdrawn only one by one.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device secured to the lower end of the container for dispensing said articles one by one and for firmly holding the remaining articles in the container, thereby obviating any danger of soiling more than one sterilized article. This device is manually actuated and it automatically separates one article, permitting the removal of the same, aided by the gravity thereof, while the remaining articles rest upon the supporting means of said device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a, device secured to the lower end of a sterile container for dispensing sterilized brushes or other similar articles used in surgery, which device is readily actuated by the touch of the human hand without necessitating the touching of the brushes or articles in the container, thereby rendering the articles in the container inaccessible to bacteria from the human hands.

A further object of the invention is to provide a sterile brush dispenser, which is high ly useful and simple in construction. Convenience of arrangement, lightness, and comparative inexpense of manufacture are further objects which have been borne in mind in the production and vention.

Other objects of the invention, together with the foregoing, will be set forth 1n the following description of the preferred emdevelopment of this inbodiment of means for practicing the same.

It is to be understood that I do notlimit myself to the embodiment disclosed in the the drawings, as I may of my preferred form withmy invention as set forth in Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectionalyiew of the brush-(lispensin mechanism showing the mechanism in the brush-releasing position and Figure 3 is a rear elevation of the containers lower portion and the dispensing mechanism thereon, also showin means by which the container is suspendei In carrying out my invention, I provide a container box, denoted by the numeral 1. A cover 2 is pivotally secured at 3 to the top portion of the box 1. The container and the mechanism is preferabl made of non-corrosive material. The shape of the box is such as to permit the guiding and the slidin of certain articles used in surgery whic must be sterilized and which must be handled one by one and without soiling more than the one handled. Such an article is the sterilized brush for cleaning the hands of a person in the operating room of a. hospital. The box 1, as illustrated in the present invention, is a rectangular box, approximately the size of a brush 4 slidably disposed therein. The brushes 4 are so disposed in the container 1 that the bristles extend upwardly and support the wooden handle of the adjacent brush. The lowermost brush is supported on a dispensing mechanism, designated in its entirety by the numeral 5.

Lugs 6 extend from the opposite side of the box 1. Pins 7 are supported in said lugs. U-sha-ped cam plates 8 and 9 are rotatably supported on the pin 7 by means of lugs 10 extending from the inner face thereof. The U-shaped cam plate 8 comprises an arcuate separating prong 11 disposed opposite to a slot 12, cut thru the sides of the box 1. A supporting prong 13 is formed by the other bent end of the U-shaped cam plate 8.

The other cam plate 9 comprises the arouate member 11 and the supporting member 13 similar to the plate 8. An extension 14 protrudes downwardly in ri ht angles to the bent portion 13 below the ex 1 so that it may be readily engaged b the hand of the person using the same, t ereby to actuate the cam plate in a manner hereinafter described. Springs 15 are coiled around the pins 7 so that one end of the spring presses against the side of the container 1 while the other end thereof presses against the straight portion of the U-shaped cam plate. The springs hold the cam plate in the position shown in Figure 1, viz: The supporting bent portions 13 protrude below and support the wooden .handle of the sterile brushes 4. Links 16 are disposed on opposite ends of the plates 8 and 9 and are pivotally secured to the upper corner 17 of the plate 8 and to the lower corner 18 of the other cam plate 9.

The invention operates as follows: after opening the cover 2, the sterilized brushes 4 are placed into the sterilized container, one by one. It is also possible to place the brushes into the container 1 before sterilization and to effect the sterilization of the brushes 4 and the container simultaneously. After the cover 2 is closed, the container is suspended by means of ears 19 and slots 20 therein, wherever it is desirable. When a person wants to release a brush, the extension 14 is pressed by hand outwardly, thereby turning the cam plate 9 around the pin 7. While the cam plate 9 is turned against the action of the spring 10, the pivot corner 18 moves the links 16 in the direction of the movement of'the extension 14, thereby advancing the corner 17 of the cam plate 8 and turning said cam plate aroundthe pivot 7 against the action of the spring 10.

While both of the cam plates 8 and 9 are turned around the pivot pin 7, the areuate prongs 11 slide into the slot 12 and extend therethru between the first and the second brushes disposed in the container, as shown in Figure 2. The supporting prong 13 being removed from below the container opening, the first brush 4 drops out by gravity into the hand of the person operating the machine. Meanwhile, the prongs 11 prevent the next brush from dropping out of the container. After the first brush is removed, the pressure on the extension 14 is released, and the action of-the spring 10 returns the cam plates to the original position and removes the separating prongs 11 from below the second brush. The second brush drops by its own gravit and is supported u on the prongs 13 until released, as,hereto ore described.

It is evident from the aforesaid descri tion that the human hand never touches more than the first brush. The remaining bru; in the container are covered all the time and advance by gravity. It is also evident that the container may be readily filled with brushes and may be supported in any position desired. There are other articles which must be used often in surgical or operating rooms, or in hospital Wards, and which must be readily accessible and sterilized. My device may be readily adapted to dispense most of the sterilized articles that may occur in a hospital, and the mechanical dispensing of which is found to be desirable. The mere change of the container shape to form a guide closure for the sterilized articles is the only change necessary to adapt my device for other articles than brushes.

It will be recognized that a particularly facile device is provided to accomplish the above described dispensing of sterilized articles; and one which combines light weight and simplicity with a ruggedness of construction and positiveness of operation, especially adapting it for its use. Being a unitary character, the device requires no careful setting up and lends itself to effective application by any institution where sterile handling of articles is highly desirable.

Having thus described my invention, what I now claim as novel and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A dispensing device for sterilized articles comprising a container, means pivotally secured on the opposite sides thereof for supporting said articles therein and for releasing one of said articles on every turn of said means, and means to connect one of said pivoted means above the pivot thereof to the other of said pivoted means below the pivot of the latter, so as to simultaneously rotate said pivoted means, in opposite directions relatively to each other.

2. A dispensing device for sterilized articles comprising a container having slots in the opposite sides thereof, coacting cam plates resiliently pivoted adjacent to said slots, supporting means on said cam plates extending below the lowermost article, separating means adapted to extend thru said slots when said supporting means are withdrawn from below said first article, and means to connect one of said cam plates above the pivot thereof and the other cam plate below the pivot thereof so as to cause the simultaneous rotation of the cam plates in opposite directions relatively to each other.

3. A dispensing device comprising a container having slots in the opposite sides of an end thereof, coacting cam plates pivoted adjacent to said slots, links operatively connecting one cam plate above the pivot thereof to the other cam plate below the pivot of the latter, so that the turning of one of said cam plates in one direction causes the turning of the other cam plate in the opposite direction, supporting prongs on said cam plates, separating prongs on said cam plates, said prongs to be so disposed as to permit the withdrawal of said supporting prongs and the simultaneous insertion of said separating prongs into said slots upon turning said cam plates, and resilient means for returning said supporting prongs below said container.

4. A dispensing device comprising a container having slots in the opposite sides of an end thereof, coacting cam plates pivoted adjacent to said slots, links operatively connecting one cam plate above the pivot thereof to the other cam plate below the pivot of the latter, so that the turning of one of said cam plates in one direction causes the turning of the other cam plate in the opposite direction, supporting prongs on said cam plates, separating prongs on said cam plates, said prongs to be so disposed as to permit the withdrawal of said supporting prongs and the simultaneous insertion of said separating prongs into said slots upon turning said cam plates, resilient means for returning said supporting prongs below said container, and a handle extending from one of said cam plates.

5. A dispensing device comprising a container, pivots disposed on the opposite sides of the container, a lever rotatably supported on each pivot; an arcuate separating element extending from each lever above the pivot thereof for projecting between two adjacent articles to be dispensed, said container having slots in the opposite sides thereof for allowing the insertion of the separating elements therethru; a supporting element protruding from each lever be low the pivot thereof so as to support the lowermost article to be dispensed; and a link connected to one lever above the pivot thereof and to the other lever below the pivot thereof for causing the turnin said levers in opposite directions relatively to each other. I

6. A dispensing device comprising a container, the inside cross sectional shape thereof conforming to the shape of the article dispensed, pivots disposed on the opposite sides of the container, a lever rotatably supported on each pivot; an arcuate separating elementextendln from each lever above the pivot thereo for projecting between two adjacent articles to be dispensed, said container having slots in the opposite sides thereof for allowing the insertion of the ture.

IRENE M. STERLING. 

